While Russia and the US hold talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Kyiv and Brussels are notably absent.
China voiced its expectation that all parties to the Ukraine conflict will ultimately be included in peace negotiations. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun made this statement Tuesday, coinciding with high-level talks between Russian and US delegations in Saudi Arabia.
The Riyadh meeting aims to mend US-Russia relations and pave the way for conflict resolution. However, representatives from Kyiv and the EU are not participating.
”We hope that all involved parties and stakeholders can eventually join the peace talks,” Guo said.
Teams led by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio are engaged in the first high-level bilateral talks on Ukraine since 2022.
US special envoy Keith Kellogg suggested that a large negotiating group might hinder progress, but affirmed that Kyiv’s and Brussels’ interests would be considered.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky declared that Kyiv was unaware of the talks and would not recognize any resulting agreements.
Since the conflict escalated almost three years ago, Beijing has actively promoted a diplomatic resolution, proposing a 12-point peace plan in 2023 and maintaining communication with both Moscow and Kyiv.
Guo emphasized Beijing’s belief that dialogue and negotiation are the only feasible paths to resolving the crisis.